GENNARO FILICE: Videogame dynasties help to pass the cold months of winter. PAGE 3B The SportsMonday Column GROWING UP FAST The Michigan women's basketball team went out West and stunned UC-Santa Barbara on Friday night. PAGE 3B SIDE OUT Disappointment marked the final homestand of the season, as the Michigan volleyball team fell to Ohio State and Penn State over the weekend. PAGE 6B SpoRTsN46NDAY November 29, 2004 1B 11 11:21 3 gla; 1 :::jl:lEmmwGm= abe Illrigatn OnuU Than ks Arizona 61, Michigan 60 (OT) Providence 72, Michigan 63 Blue drops a pair in NIT for nothing By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer NEW YORK - Prior to Friday's Preseason NIT consolation game at Madison Square Gar- den, Providence sophomore Dwight Brewington made a bold prediction. "The last thing he said before we went out on the court was, 'We're not going 0-2 down here,' " Providence coach Tim Welsh said. Unfortunately for Michigan, Brewington was able to back up his words. The 6-foot-5 guard poured in 23 points and added seven boards, lead- ing the Friars (4-1) to a 72-63 victory over the Wolverines (3-2). The defeat came on the heels of Michigan's demoralizing 61-60 overtime loss on Wednesday to No. 18 Arizona (3-2), capping a disappoint- ing Thanksgiving weekend for the Wolverines.' In both matchups, the Wolverines' terrible free- throw shooting contributed to their downfall. Michigan shot just 52.9 percent from the line in the Arizona game and followed that performance with an even more dreadful 47.4 percent against Providence. "We shot horrendously from the foul line," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "So I think any time you're struggling to score, and then you get to the foul line and you can't cash in, it's very deflating." Despite the Wolverines' poor performance from the charity stripe, they were in position to win on Friday until Providence exploded midway through the second half. With Michigan nursing a 46-42 lead, the Friars rattled off 14 unanswered points in less than three minutes to bury the Wol- verines. During that stretch, Providence ran the floor with reckless abandon, turning Michigan's turnovers and forced shots into points. The Friars punctuated their rally in electrifying fashion. After giving Providence an eight-point lead with a tip-in off the offensive glass, Brew- ington picked off junior Daniel Horton's pass. He then dribbled up the right sideline and tossed a perfect alley-oop to sophomore Gerald Brown, whose emphatic dunk brought the Garden crowd to its feet and gave the Friars a 56-46 lead. "It's nice to run," Welsh said. "But if you run to the end line and then fall over the finish line, it's no good. But we've got guys that can finish, and (Brown's) one guy that can finish against any size player." After Amaker called a timeout, Horton tried to put the Wolverines back on track by drilling a 3-pointer. On Michigan's very next possession, Horton dished to sophomore Brent Petway, whose tomahawk jam cut the Providence lead to 56-51. But that's as close as the Wolverines would come. Brewington scored seven points in the last three min- utes and 15 seconds to help keep Michigan at bay. The loss was surprising considering the rela- tively weak offensive performance of Providence's 2004 All-American Ryan Gomes. Michigan fresh- man Ronald Coleman made the first start of his career and spent most of the night matched up with See NIT, Page 5B AP PHOTO Junior Daniel Horton dives for a loose ball with Providence guard Donnie McGrath In the second half of the Wolverines' consolation game loss. MINNESOTA 5, MICHIGAN 1 WISCONNN 3, MICHICAN 1 Icers embarrassed in Showcase sweep By Gabe Edelson Daily Sports Writer MADISON- It wasn't exactly the type of weekend most would expect from the top-ranked hockey team in the country. No. 1 Michigan (7-1-0 CCHA, 9-4-1 overall) appeared overwhelmed against No. 2 Wisconsin (7-3-0 WCHA, 10-4-0) and dropped a 3-1 decision on Saturday at the Kohl Center. The previous night, the Wolverines fell at No. 3 Minnesota (6-2- 0 WCHA, 10-3-0), 5-1. It was the second straight year Michigan was swept in the College Hockey Showcase. But Michigan coach Red Berenson wasn't so shocked at his team's consecu- tive losses. "We didn't know if we would come in and have a good weekend or not," Beren- son said. "We didn't know how good we were. We would've had to be really lucky to get by these games. " On Saturday, Wisconsin captain Adam Burish came up with the game-winning goal at 11:10 of the second period. With the Badgers on the power play, forward Joe Pavelski moved the puck to defense- man Jeff Likens at the bottom of the right circle. Likens fed a cross-ice pass to Bur- ish, who tapped in his third goal of the season from the left side of the crease, beating Michigan goalie Al Montoya stick side. The Badgers had taken a 1-0 lead 12:56 into the opening period. After Michigan forward David Rohlfs turned the puck over deep in his own zone, Wisconsin for- ward Nick Licari took the puck and sent it to Jake Dowell, who was waiting in front of the Michigan net. Dowell bested Mon- toya for his seventh goal of the season. But it took less than six minutes for the Wolverines to knot the score. Freshman Chad Kolarik beat Badger goalie Bernd Bruckler low to the stick side after tak- - ing a pass from junior Jeff Tambellini while streaking down the ice. Following a slashing penalty on Wisconsin's Ryan MacMurchy with under a minute to go in the first period, the momentum was with Michigan. Despite entering the second frame short-handed, the Badgers responded. After killing off MacMurchy's penalty and fighting through another man disad- vantage when Tom Gilbert was called for tripping, Michigan forward Milan Gajic was sent to the sin bin for high-sticking. Burish capitalized with his game-winner. "We didn't wilt," Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said of his team's resiliency in the second. "We came out and had a great start to that period." The Badgers put the game out of reach six minutes later at 17:20. MacMurchy and Davis Drewiske assisted on Andrew Joudrey's short-handed goal. Joudrey skated into the Michigan zone on the right side, cut to the high slot, and fired the puck between two Michigan play- ers before beating Montoya glove side. The goal gave Wisconsin a 3-1 lead that would hold up as the final score. "The short-handed goal was a huge See SHOWCASE, Page 4B AP PHOTO Wisconsin's Adam Burish tips the game-winning goal past Michigan goalie Al Montoya on Saturday night. The Badgers beat the Wolverines 3-1 to complete the WCHA's sweep of Michigan at the College Hockey Showcase - Michigan dropped a 5-1 decision to Minnesota on Friday. NCAA VOLLEYBALL OPENING ROUNDS The Michigan volleyball team - despite being swept by Ohio State and Penn State over the weekend - received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament yesterday. The Wolverines' first two matches (should they advance) will be played at Texas. MIchigan (19-12) Gregory Gym Friday, 5 p.m. CST 0 VOLLEYBALL Wolverines get a bid to the dance By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Writer It's been a season full of ups and downs for the Michigan volleyball team. After winning 14 of its first 16 matches - the best start in school history - Michigan lost six of loss to Penn State. "I am confident that we can compete with any top- 10 team in the nation. I have no doubt that we can be successful." Michigan coach Mark Rosen credits his team's 3-0 win at Northwestern a week ago for securing its tour- nament berth, stressing that it was a win Michigan Rice (25-4) lost to Nevada in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Even though the Owls play in a weaker conference, they took then-No. 1 Minnesota to five games in a 3-2 loss in September. Rosen recognizes it will not be easy for Michigan to win the match. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I,